Sky Mound
Nancy Holt
1984—
I-A Landfill, Hackensack Meadowlands, New Jersey, USA
Overall: 57 acres (23.1 ha); Height: 110 ft. (33.5 m)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Four miles from Manhattan, in between the New Jersey Turnpike and the Amtrak railway, lies a massive landfill. Holt was recruited to design the reclamation of the site, which would both mitigate environmental damage and transform the landfill into a sculptural observatory. She planned to incorporate gravel paths in alignment with the solstices, a large gunite sphere encircled by a moat to represent the moon, methane flares visible from planes overhead, and a pond that would attract wildlife and drain surface water from the landfill. This pond is the only realized portion of Holt’s design—the rest is delayed indefinitely.
